Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, covering high school football, high school basketball, and other high school sports in Arizona. I love the story that goes well beyond the stat line.Â

Boys basketball All-Arizona candidates

As the boys basketball season winds down with championships Saturday, itâ€™s a good Â time to look at the top players in the state. Five spots are open for azcentral sportsâ€™ All-Arizona team. They are the best of the best, regardless of division. Letâ€™s take a look at some of the candidates (in alphabetical order). Feel free to cast a vote.

Jeremiah April, Glendale Joy Christian, 7-0, Sr., C: A young senior, April emerged as a defensive force under the guidance of coach Scott Brown. He altered shots constantly in Division IV and found open teammates for baskets with an unselfish, team-first approach on offense.

Kyler Ashley, Fort Defiance Window Rock, 5-7, Sr., PG: A great scorer who was clutch all season. He beat D.II Phoenix Shadow Mountain on a last-second 3-pointer. He had 21 points to lead Window Rock to a 32-point rout of Snowflake in the D.III, Section I tournament championship. Ashley was the key to the team being the No. 1 seed in the D.III tournament.

Drew Bender, Phoenix Pinnacle, 6-5, Sr., G: This four-year starter did it all for Pinnacle. A great passer, scorer and rebounder, Bender was clutch in crunch time and played through injuries to help Pinnacle reach the Division I semifinals for a third consecutive season.

Casey Benson, Tempe Corona del Sol, 6-2, Jr., PG: A true scoring point guard who makes everybody around him better. He put a small team on his back and carried it to Thursdayâ€™s Division I semifinals. The way he helped Corona del Sol survive Phoenix Mountain Pointe in double overtime state playoff win was one of the more remarkable individual efforts of the season.

Payton Dastrup, Mesa Mountain View, 6-9, Jr., C/F: Great presence in the block, Dastrup had to put more on his plate this season to get the Toros to the Division I tournament as a No. 10 seed. His versatility on offense and strength made him a difficult match-up for every opponent.

Conner Helvig, Gilbert, 6-3, Sr., G: Averaged 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, leading Gilbert to the Elite 8 of the Division I tournament.

Khari Holloway, Phoenix Mountain Pointe, 6-1, Sr., PG: He carried this team through adversity all season, and nearly matched Casey Benson in the game of the season, scoring 30 points in a double-overtime state playoff loss against Corona del Sol.

Jaron Hopkins, Mesa Dobson, 6-5, Sr., G: He is the only Pac-12 signee from the 2013 Arizona crop. He is dynamic. Has a great first step. A great defender who can rebound, pass and shoot.

Jordan Howard, Gilbert Perry, 5-10, Jr., G: Averaged 25 points a game and made 48 percent of his shots. Had 30 points late in the season against Chandler Hamilton.

Elston Jones Jr., Goodyear Millennium, 6-10, Jr., C: Great shot-blocker and rebounder, Jones came back strong after missing most of last season with an injury. His post moves improved. But it was his defense that got Millennium to the D.I quarterfinals.

Tim Kempton Jr., Phoenix Brophy Prep, 6-10, Sr., C: Avearged 24 points, 16 rebounds and shot better than 52 percent for a team that missed him badly in a first-round loss to No.24-seed Tucson Sunnyside in the Division I boys basketball tournament. Lehigh got a steal with his college signing. A young Brophy team basically got on his back this year and he carried it more than 20 wins.

Chaz Mack, TucsonÂ Catalina Foothills, 6-5, Jr., F: Outstanding inside and outside scorer, he had 42 points in a two-point road win over Division I semifinalist Cesar Chavez late in the season. Dynamic with the ball, he gets to the free-throw line very well. He averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds who was arguably the best player in Tucson all season.

Jordan Martin, Millennium, 5-11, Sr., G: Showed amazing toughness playing well, despite a fracture in his pelvis and with a slightly torn labrum this season. He led the team in scoring and clutch moments. Made big shots in one-point quarterfinal loss to Corona del Sol.

Dorian Pickens, Pinnacle, 6-5, Jr., G: Pickens was a force on defense and an unselfish player on offense who never forced shots and wasnâ€™t afraid to step up to make big shots when the team needed him most. Will be one of the stateâ€™s top recruits in the summer.

Rolando Rhymes, Scottsdale Desert Mountain, 5-8, Jr., PG: Maybe the best player in the state creating in the lane. His cross-over dribble was basically unguardable. He didnâ€™t shoot a lot from outside because he was so good at setting up teammates with his ability to penetrate. An 80 percent free-throw shooter, he got to the line a lot.

Pablo Rivas, Laveen Cesar Chavez, 6-5, Jr., F: The heart and soul of the Division I final four team, he was the most experienced player back from last yearâ€™s state runner-up team. He is a slashing scorer who defends and rebounds and leads. Great passion. Great poise.

Jorrell Smith, Phoenix Cortez, 5-8, Sr., PG: A scoring machine, averaging 26 points a game, best in the state. Â His ability to score in every which way was greatly missed in state tournament loss to Gilbert Christian.

Jake Toolson, Gilbert Highland, 6-5, Jr., G/F: One of the strongest players in the state, a non-stop motor who could score inside as well as outside. Very aggressive. Brought a nasty streak to the court.

Paul Watson, Paradise Valley, 6-6, Sr., F: Very explosive baseline moves. Can also fill it up from outside. Mostly faced double teams. When he wanted to most, he could score and nobody was going to stop him. Signed with Fresno State.

azcentral.com has switched to the Facebook comment system on its blogs. Existing blog comments will display, but new comments will only be accepted via the Facebook comment system. To begin commenting, you must be logged into an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. While we welcome you to join conversations, readers are responsible for their comments and abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. We reserve the right, without warning or notification, to remove comments and block users judged to violate our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Facebook comments FAQ

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.